PORTO RICO EXPERIMENT STATION. 393 



levied, with a marked increase rate of internal-revenue tax on liquors, 

 cigars, etc. 



Formerly the landowners paid no tax on their holdings, and as a 

 consequence many proprietors held large bodies of undeveloped and 

 unused land with no expense. The present method of taxation makes 

 the ownership of land an expense, and will probably result in causing 

 much of the land either to be used for agricultural purposes or to be 

 placed upon the market. Where lands are not on the market and not 

 being bought or sold it is difficult to quote prices. In a general way, 

 however, there is very little land that can be purchased for less than 

 $10 per acre, even when remote from roads and without improvements. 

 Near good roads or near the towns and cities the prices advance. 

 Cane lands vary in price from $70 to $200 per acre, according to kind 

 and condition; coffee lands without coffee on them from $10 to $30, 

 and with coffee trees in bearing, from $50 to $150, according to kind, 

 location, and improvements. There are very few coffee plantations, 

 however, that under the present depression for that crop can not be 

 bought for $100 per acre, and there are many that can be purchased 

 at $60 to $70 per acre. Pasture lands range from $15 to $60 per acre, 

 and will probably advance in price because they are often adapted to 

 sugar, which industry is now in a flourishing condition. 



The present law provides for a tax on lands and personal property of 

 one-half per cent of their assessed value for insular purposes, and not 

 to exceed an additional half per cent for local or municipal purposes. 

 The assessed value is very nearly the actual or market value. 



Land titles in Porto Rico are very poorly defined, and for many 

 tracts no records are obtainable. This makes the transfer of property 

 very troublesome and the title in lands more or less uncertain. 

 There are considerable areas of Crown lands in the island, scattered 

 about from the shores to the interior mountains, but the records relat- 

 ing to them are incomplete. A list of such lands, as given in the report 

 of the commissioner of the interior for Porto Rico, while acknowl- 

 edged to be incomplete, shows an aggregate of 100,000 acres. The 

 Crown lands presumably belong to the Federal Government, but no 

 action has thus far been taken in regard to their disposal. It is very 

 essential to have a complete record of lands in Porto Rico, both pri- 

 vate and public, put into the care of a competent office. All lands, 

 and all future changes likewise, should be recorded. If necessary, a 

 survey should be made establishing the boundaries of all parcels of 

 land. When Congress takes up the adjustment of this matter it is 

 suggested that a parcel of the public domain be designated for a for- 

 estry reserve, and that a limited area be also set aside for the experi- 

 ment stations to be used for agricultural experiments. 



